6 reactions
kELI5 - How come the base of tall buildings don't pulverize under the weight of the building?
Take for example the Taipei 101 Tower:
- 508.2 meters high
- Weighs 700,000 tons
- Ground floor is 57x63.5 meters, which is 3619.5 m²
- That means an area of 3619.5m² has to hold up 700.000 tons, which is ~193 tons per m² which is 193.000 kilograms per m²
I don't know but 193.000 ilograms feels like an unbearable crushing all-pulverizing weight to me.
Obviously it works since the Taipei 101 tower and other huge buildings exist, but intuitively I don't understand how the bases of large and tall buildings don't instantly pulverize under the weight of everything above it.
#education
Take for example the Taipei 101 Tower:
- 508.2 meters high
- Weighs 700,000 tons
- Ground floor is 57x63.5 meters, which is 3619.5 m²
- That means an area of 3619.5m² has to hold up 700.000 tons, which is ~193 tons per m² which is 193.000 kilograms per m²
I don't know but 193.000 ilograms feels like an unbearable crushing all-pulverizing weight to me.
Obviously it works since the Taipei 101 tower and other huge buildings exist, but intuitively I don't understand how the bases of large and tall buildings don't instantly pulverize under the weight of everything above it.
#education
| 24,000 mlx | |
| 16 | |
| 6 |